Chapter 3

She considered going to the dance without a date, but that was too much hassle. She stayed home instead.

That Monday, Charlie walked her direction when he left English. “I didn’t see you at the dance,” he said.

“I didn’t go. I didn’t have a date.”

“Well, see you. Got to get to shop.”

A week later, he walked in her direction again. “Do you have a date for the dance this Friday?”

“No.”

“Would you go with me?”

“Yes.”

“I’m late for shop again. You go out the Oak Street entrance?”

“Yes.”

“See you then.”

She had a boy to talk to after school, again. Craig no longer used that entrance, which meant that the only time she had to avoid him was at lunch. Charlie went out that entrance Tuesday and Wednesday, too. Thursday, she didn’t see him. Friday, he was back. “We’re going out tonight?”

“Yes.”

“I have your address. When should I come by?”

“How about seven?” Her mom and dad would probably want to meet him.

She mentioned that to them that night. “Remember how you wanted me to dance with other boys?”

“Yes,” her mom said, “although I’m surprised you do.”

“I remember all you tell me. Anyway, I’m going to the dance with another boy tonight. Charlie Delray. Do you want to talk to him first?”

“We most certainly do,” her dad said. “We want to talk to him before we say you can date him.”

“Well, you wanted me to dance with him. I’ve been dancing with him for years. And we’re in some of the same classes.”

She was ready to throw a screaming fit if they didn’t let her go. It would get all over the school. It didn’t happen, though. The ride in Charlie’s Jeep was far from as smooth as Craig’s family’s Chrysler. It was Charlie’s car, though.

Charlie left her only to get them cups of Kool-Aid and to go to the boys’. So much for her parents’ rule of dancing with different boys. She didn’t mention it, though. They hadn’t mentioned it to Charlie.

They had mentioned the 11:00 curfew, though. And Charlie drove directly to a make-out spot. They weren’t the first cars there. Craig, at least, had looked for privacy. “I know this is a first date,” Charlie said, “but the front seats in the Jeep are really impossible. You’d be more comfortable in back.”

“Okay,” she said, “but treat that 11:00 as when they call the cops. Try to get me back a little after 10:30.” She climbed into the back seat. Charlie kissed her lips for a while before inserting his tongue. He didn’t put his hands on her breasts, but his arm rested against her right breast when he held that arm. He wasn’t a bad kisser, but she was more nervous than aroused. He got her back before 11:00 and kissed her before she got out and went into her house. He’d been right; the front seats made it awkward.

She and Charlie were a couple. Craig and Nancy were soon a couple. Well, she’d dumped Craig before he could really dump her. Charlie drove to school, living far enough away to make it reasonable. At least, it was reasonable in bad weather. He took to driving her home, which wasn’t reasonable at all. It was a short walk except when she had to walk farther with one of her friends because they had something important to talk about.

The second time that Charlie took her to a dance, he lifted her arms around his neck. The nicest girls didn’t do that, and she was about to move them back. Then Craig danced past and looked shocked. She kept them there. Charlie held her close and moved them around. She clung to him. She felt his stiffie against her stomach, as he could probably feel her hard nipples against his chest.

That night in the back seat of the Jeep, Charlie felt all over her breasts. When he began to unbutton her sweater, though, she felt exposed. The Jeep was so high off the ground that they might as well have been on a stage. “Come on, Charlie,” she said and buttoned herself up again.

“Come on, yourself, Sandy. Don’t tell me Craig never did that.”

Well, he had, but not on their second date. “Way up here, all these cars around, I might as well be on display.”

“These isinglass windows aren’t that easy to see through. Look out.” That was true. But the front windshield was plain glass and huge.

“I still feel exposed.”

“Those kids are minding their own business.”

“Well, leave my buttons alone.”

“Kiss me again.” She did. He gave her a French kiss and kept his hands outside her sweater.

On their next date, he danced with one hand fully on her seat. He drove her to a more hidden spot. As a matter of fact, the last bit was off the road and terribly bumpy. “Nobody’s around,” he said. They got in the back seat to kiss. Soon he was unbuttoning her blouse. Well, she’d almost told him he could if he’d find a private spot.

His kisses were exciting, his hands on her breasts more exciting. When his tongue left her mouth, he kissed her ear, her neck, her shoulder. When his hand went behind her back, though, she trapped it against the seat. He stopped kissing her to look at her in the dim light. She shook her head. Charlie took his hand away.

These days she knew what her damp panties meant. And she had been excited. Why shouldn’t she let Charlie stroke her bare breasts? Craig had, and look how Craig had treated her. Charlie was going awfully fast, of course. Still, she was in the tenth grade now, not some little baby. Next time, maybe she would.

And, next time, she did. The dance after that, Charlie sucked on her nipple. It was exciting; her panties were damp when she got home. In the shower the next morning, though, that nipple was still a little tender.

A snow storm blew in while they were in school one Thursday, surprising everybody. Everybody was standing at the entrance, wondering how they were going to wade through the drifts on the sidewalk, when Charlie came out. “Sandy!” he said. “Wait here. I’ll drive as close as possible.”

He drove right up on the sidewalk. “Can you drive Sue home, too?” Sandy asked when she was in the Jeep.

“For you, sure.”

Sandy called Sue over, and got out so she could get in the back. Charlie drove to Sue’s house before taking Sandy home. Again, there was the clumsiness of allowing Sue to climb out while the Jeep was buttoned up. “Gee thanks,” Sandy said when Charlie reached her house. Having a boyfriend who drove a Jeep was suddenly a social benefit. They closed the school next day. They also canceled the dance that night, quite unnecessarily. Most of the streets were plowed by then.

For Christmas, she and Charlie gave each other scarves. It was a coincidence. Her gift to him was to keep him warm in winter; his to her was a fashion accessory.

Linda was, of course, home for Christmas. Barbara didn’t have that much time off, which she had to split between the family and her new friends from the office. Linda came over twice, but Sandy avoided her. She didn’t want to hear about Craig.

After Christmas, the weather turned cold. Her family’s house kept warm enough, but the furnace at school didn’t put out enough heat. She wore warm sweaters and long stockings to class. She was taking driver’s ed in the worst possible weather, though they were still in the classroom.

The first dance of the new year, the gym was warm enough, though. The exercise during the rock numbers was enough to work up a sweat, and Charlie held her close during the slow dances. Only her feet got cold. After the dance, however, the back seat of the Jeep was chilly. Chilly? It was darn-near freezing.

When Charlie began to unbutton her sweater, she pushed his hand away. “Charlie, it’s cold enough with my coat unbuttoned.”

“Okay,” he said, “kiss me.”

While kissing her, he pulled her coat closed. Then his hand went to her left knee. That was still chilly, but she’d said ‘no’ to his hand inside her coat. His hand moved up her leg until she clamped both legs together around it. Charlie broke the kiss. “Okay,” he said. “Let go and I’ll move it out.” She was suspicious, but when she relaxed her legs, he moved his hand out from under her skirt.

Being quite open about it, he moved the hand back to her right knee. She moved her legs together, and he began massaging the top of her leg before pulling her back into the kiss. When his hand went too far, she pushed his arm away. Neither broke the kiss for that. Finally, he looked at his watch. “I’d better get you home; we’ve farther to drive out here.”

The weather turned wet and stormy. Her mom asked Charlie to come back for some hot chocolate right after the next dance. Sandy was just as happy. Her own kitchen was much warmer than the back seat of the Jeep. Barbara, as well as her parents, disappeared when the hot chocolate had been drunk. She was bored with “77 Sunset Strip” this year, but Charlie seemed interested. They petted, but she wasn’t sure she had all his attention. Maybe that was lucky; she could split her attention between him and listening for footsteps on the stairs. When the news came on, Charlie got more serious about the petting, although he left her blouse buttoned. She had to push his hand further down her leg several times. She couldn’t say anything, of course; her mom and dad might hear. Heck! Barb might hear and never in a million years let Sandy forget. Then sports came on and Charlie paid attention to the TV.

Monday, when Charlie gave her a ride home, she mentioned it. “Look, Charlie, in my own home, with my parents upstairs ... I mean, you could act like a gentleman.”

“I’m sorry, Sandy. I thought you liked it.”

“Some of it, I do. Not wrestling you where my parents can hear.” Let alone her sister.

“I’ll behave.”

One of the secretaries at Barb’s job got sick. Barb started typing sometimes -- if not regularly. “What I want to know,” Barb said, “is when I’m going to get a raise.”

“Don’t think about that all the time,” their dad advised. “People get paid what they’re worth. Try to make yourself more valuable to your employer.”

“And,” Barb asked Sandy, “are you going to take typing?”

“Right after driver’s ed.”

“All those college-prep classes are a waste, you know.” Barb was just jealous.

“Now, dear,” their mom said, “the academic courses aren’t just college preparatory. They’re things you should know. I took Latin, and I never imagined I would be going to college.” Since her mom was more or less taking her side, Sandy didn’t say anything. It seemed to her, though, that Latin just meant that her mom had gone to school long ago. And it had been long ago, too. Most of her schooling had been before the war.

Sandy thought out how to deal with Charlie well before the next dance. Her mom had warned her that boys were out for only one thing. Her girlfriends sort of disagreed. Boys were out for whatever they could get. Sandy hadn’t been sure earlier; Craig had almost had her fooled. Charlie, though, was out for whatever he could get. Well, Sandy liked some of it, too. But the girl had to set the limit. She decided that she would cross her legs in the back seat. That would limit what Charlie could get. And, when the weather got a little warmer, she’d keep Charlie above the waist.

She wasn’t the only one who’d been doing some thinking. When she climbed back in the Jeep after the next dance, she saw a blanket on the back seat. It covered the right half of the seat, including the back. She sat on the blanket, which felt a little warmer than the seat had. “Lift up your coat,” Charlie said, “and lean forward.” Charlie got his right hand under the back of her coat, and -- soon -- under the sweater. When he’d unsnapped the bra, he said, “Now you can relax.” He cupped her breast before kissing her.

The position was awkward, and not only his hand was chilly. But his fingers felt exciting on her nipple. And his kiss, at least was warm. When his other hand went under her skirt, she remembered to cross her legs. When their time was up, though, she had to get nearly undressed to redo her bra.

That Monday, Charlie asked her for a movie date on Friday. Her mom, who didn’t quite approve of Charlie, appreciated the lead time. Valentine’s day was coming up, and -- remembering the year before -- Sandy bought a card for Charlie. She was ready Wednesday, but Charlie didn’t mention it. Thursday, Valentine’s day itself, she had her valentine hidden in her English book. Again, Charlie didn’t seem to know what day it was. By the time she got to the Jeep after school, she figured she wasn’t going to get a card that year. Charlie wasn’t all that romantic, but still...

When she climbed in the Jeep, though, there was a box in the seat. “Charlie. Is this for me?” It was a heart-shaped candy box.

“Let’s see. It says ‘Sandy.’ Must be for you; only Sandy in the Jeep.” Well, he might not be romantic, but he was generous. She dug out the card and gave it to him. The box, when she opened it at home, was quite elaborate. She shared the candy with her parents. Barb had received her own box from a guy at work.

When Charlie took her to Taylor’s to see the movie, he led her to the balcony as if that was the only place to sit, but he chose the fifth row back. He gave her the popcorn box to hold and put one arm around her shoulder. He seemed to have the other arm under his coat. She wondered what he was doing, but then the main feature came on -- taking her attention. Soon after, she felt his hand on her knee. It was warm, the first time she’d felt his hand warm on her skin.

She looked around, but nobody could see. Maybe, if the people in the rows ahead turned around, they could see something. But they didn’t, and they wouldn’t have been able to see much even if they had. She crossed her legs, putting the right leg on top as Charlie was sitting to her right.

This was the oddest situation. When they had parked, he’d been kissing her and doing a little more. At least she could think of it as time spent kissing. He didn’t kiss her now; he was looking at the movie rather than looking at her. His hand barely moved on her left shoulder. But his other hand stroked her leg and squeezed it. Her feelings, which had begun as embarrassment and nervousness, grew into the greatest excitement she had ever felt.

She ignored the movie. All her attention was on Charlie’s fingers as they brushed across the inside of her thigh. When he slowly withdrew his hand, she finally noticed the screen. Closing credits were rolling. There was a bustle around them, but neither of them suggested leaving. Indeed, they stayed through the March of Time and other short subjects. When the main feature started again, Charlie put his hand back on her knee. She checked the time. They didn’t need to leave yet, but she didn’t trust herself to watch the time when she hadn’t even been able to watch the movie.

“Maybe we should leave now,” she whispered.

“Really?”

“Really. I need to be home before the show is over.”

When they got to the Jeep, she said. “This is freezing. Would you mind taking me right home?” He did. His goodnight kiss involved a hug so tight that she could feel his stiffie through both their coats.

Her panties were so wet when she got undressed that night that some had leaked through to her skirt. The next morning, her mom asked, “Enjoy the movie, darling?”

“Yes.” Then she was afraid that her mom would ask about the plot. Sandy had no idea what had happened in the show after the first ten minutes.

“You came home early.”

“Do you have any idea how cold a Jeep is in this weather?”

Her mom laughed.

After the next dance, though, she and Charlie did park. The blanket helped a little, and Charlie draped it over her back. His hand was cold on her leg again, and the strokes of his fingers were less exciting.

Having asked her to one movie, Charlie started asking her the weeks when there wasn’t a dance. Sandy was sure that her parents would allow her to date on school nights; they’d allowed her to date Craig. But Charlie didn’t ask.

Gradually, the weather turned warmer. Then it turned wet. A bad rainstorm hit while they were dancing during the second sock hop of March. “I’ll get the Jeep,” Charlie said at the end of the dance. “Listen for the horn.” That was fair; she couldn’t ask him to run back inside through this to get her. “You might want me to take you straight home,” he added cryptically.

When she got in, she saw what he meant. The back seat was damp, and the blanket looked soggy. There had to be a leak in the canvas. “I think I do want to go home,” she said.

“I don’t blame you,” he replied. Their goodnight kiss was in the front seat, and brief. When she undressed that night, every article of clothing was wet, despite her raincoat.

When it wasn’t raining the next week, it was threatening rain. Her mom made her take a raincoat to the movies Friday night, even though it wasn’t raining. She was afraid that Charlie would think her the little girl her mom treated her as. Instead, he welcomed the coat. For that matter, he was wearing not only a jacket but gloves. In the theater, he helped her take her raincoat off before she sat down. He draped it over their laps, so it covered the arm he thrust far under her skirt.

He got up at the end of the feature, which -- again -- she had barely seen. She would have been quite happy to have stayed through the short subjects, but she couldn’t have said so. Petting was something she let Charlie do, not something she could admit to enjoying. Charlie, however, parked off the edge of a back road instead of taking her home. “The back seat,” he said, “is dry now.” And so it was when they’d moved there.

It wasn’t particularly warm, however, and the blanket wasn’t there. She should have brought her raincoat from the front seat. Still, Charlie’s kiss was warm. So was his hand when he’d unbuttoned her blouse. Having been aroused by the petting in the theater, she welcomed Charlie’s direct approach in the back seat. Soon, his mouth was on her breasts and his hand back on her leg.

When she finally looked at her watch, it was a few minutes after 11:00. She got back late, and her dad bawled her out. “But I got back early the last three dates, real early last week.”

“And you didn’t even go out last night. That doesn’t mean you can stay out all night tonight. The curfew is just that. It’s the latest you can be out; it’s not an average. Have Charlie come in before your next date.” Which meant, at least, that her dad wasn’t going to keep her from dating.

“Does it have to be one boy all the time?” Her mom asked at breakfast the next morning. “You’re too young to go steady. What happened to playing the field?”

“Dead with the dinosaurs. And I’m not going steady.”

“Now darling, despite what you may think, I never saw a live dinosaur, and I did see playing the field.”

“I hate to agree with Sandy,” Barb said, “but she’s right. Nobody who’s anybody dates different boys for every dance.”

Her mom dropped the issue. Sandy noticed that she had claimed to have seen playing the field; she hadn’t claimed to have played the field.

Her Geometry grade, which had been a ‘C’ for the first marking period and a ‘B’ for the second, fell to a ‘C’ again. “That’s all right,” said her dad, “but I don’t like the direction it’s going.”

“I haven’t had a ‘D’ on a test since the first,” Sandy pointed out. “If anything, this was a high ‘C.’ I won’t fail.” Charlie wouldn’t be the help Craig had been on Geometry; he wasn’t even taking it.

She had passed driver’s ed, which was only the first step. Her dad drove her to the state facility, and she passed the test there. She drove back, although it was another week before she actually got her license.

Before the next dance, Charlie came in and was chewed out. He didn’t say anything about it while driving her to the dance, nor there. When he parked, though, he said, “Maybe you should sit on the left side of the seat. That way, I can see my watch.”

That was all right. She put her right leg on top, as that was the one closer to him. Charlie fumbled less unbuttoning her blouse with his right hand, but he had more trouble with her bra. Then he kissed her deeply again. The fingers of his left hand played with her left nipple while his other hand went under her skirt. He stroked her thigh while he kissed her right breast. She got more and more aroused as this went on.

He kissed her left breast, sucking her nipple into his mouth. At the same time, she felt his hand stroking the bottom of her leg. The arousal was wonderful, but the fright was worse. He was about to reach her panties, the bottom of her panties, the part that was already damp.

“Charlie, no,” she said. She pushed his arm away.

“All right,” he agreed. His hand went to the top of her leg and he kissed her mouth again. Not long after, he looked at his watch. “Better get you back,” he said.

Typing was different from all her other classes. Most of the other students were seniors, more than half were senior boys. Apparently, girls who wanted to type for a living took typing for a year or two, like Barb had. The one-marking-period class was full of kids who wanted to type their themes for school. Well, she had a typewriter at home. It used to be Barb’s, but her dad had paid for it and said that she could use it. For that matter, Barb had pushed her to learn typing; she was in no position to refuse to let her practice.

John, one of the seniors in her typing class, asked her to dance at one of the sock hops. All right, he was something of a drudge, but he was a senior. He didn’t dance as well as Craig or Charlie did. “You didn’t have to do that,” Charlie said.

“Yes, I did. Long ago, my mom and dad told me that I had to dance with other boys.”

“Long ago. And you’re my date.”

“Well, if they don’t ask me, I can’t accept. But I danced with you when I was Craig’s date.”

That night parked well off the road and under trees where only a Jeep could go, Charlie petted her more aggressively than ever. When his hand went under her thigh, she pushed it away again. He kissed her mouth, holding the back of her head and pressing against her lips. Then his hand returned under her thigh. When she pushed against his arm, he pushed back. Even though she used two hands, he got farther. He stroked the bottom of her panties before he withdrew.

“Damn it, Sandy,” he said when he’d let go of her head, “you’re my date.” Was that about his manhandling her, or about her dancing with John?

“I’m your date. You invited me to a dance. You didn’t invite me to a wrestling match.”

“Don’t say you didn’t like it, too.”

“I liked kissing you. I liked your hugging me.” She couldn’t say she liked petting. “I didn’t like you not taking ‘no’ for an answer.”

“That’s all you say to me. You didn’t say ‘no’ to John.” Apparently, his anger was about both.

“I didn’t say ‘no’ to dancing with you.” How long had it been since he asked her for a dance, really? Well, that wasn’t fair; he invited her to dances. Why was she trying to be fair to Charlie in her own mind when he’d just grabbed her where she didn’t want to be grabbed?

They talked until it was time for him to drive her back, but they didn’t get any further. She wouldn’t have been surprised if Charlie dumped her, and she wouldn’t have been all that sorry, either. After school Monday, though, he talked to her as though everything was all right. When they were in the Jeep, he asked, “Do you want to go to the movies Friday night?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Want to sit in the balcony?” They always had.

“Of course.” Then they got to her house. Their talk for the rest of the week was about school. But her period came on Wednesday.

During the movie, she worried about his groping going too far, but Charlie kept his hand on the top of her leg. Indeed, his strokes seemed to be intent on exciting her rather than exploring her. Too often she had felt like exploration was his goal. Parking, though, was another story. “Do you have to cross your legs?” he asked.

“With you, I do. You don’t understand limits.”

“I understand them; I don’t like them.”

“All right. The limit for tonight is my belt. Stay above my waist.”

“Above your waist?”

“You said you could understand limits.” And she didn’t trust him to obey any limits with his hand under her skirt.

He laughed. “But no limits above your waist? None at all.”

“Don’t hurt me.”

“Sandy, hurting you is the last thing I would do.”

He kissed her while he was unbuttoning her blouse. “Take it off,” he said when he broke.

That was reasonable. “Okay. Give me a minute.” She removed her bra, too. “Kiss me again,” she said when she’d put them both over the back of the front seat.

He kissed her, tongue exploring her mouth while his hands explored her breasts. Then his mouth took over from his hands. He kissed all over her breast, ending at the nipple. If he was a little less thorough on her left breast, he was as gentle. He held it in his hand while he kissed and sucked on her nipple.

“I have to get you home,” he finally said. She dressed before climbing back in the front seat.

After school on Wednesday, Mary asked her over to do homework together. “Can’t tonight,” she said. “We’re buying groceries.”

“Can’t your mom get them herself?”

“She lets me drive. Only time I get to drive all week.”

Charlie was silent during the discussion, but -- when they were alone in the Jeep -- he asked, “Want to learn to drive the Jeep?”

That would be a real accomplishment. Her dad’s car was an automatic shift. But... “Tonight?”

“I wasn’t thinking about that. The parking lot is empty on Saturday.”

“I’d love to, but I have chores.”

“I’ll call, and we’ll set up a time.”

She told her mom, who was surprisingly agreeable about her doing the wash at another time. Charlie, though, didn’t mention it again all week.

After the dance on Friday, he parked in their usual hidden spot. She wondered whether he would ask her to take her blouse off again. It wasn’t as cold as it had been, but the back of the seat would be chilly against her skin. She crossed her legs again. Charlie’s hands didn’t even go to her blouse. During his first kiss, his hand went to her knee. He stroked back and forth on the inside of her thigh, going a little higher each time. Well, there was no pad to touch this time. When his hand touched her mound, he broke the kiss. “Oh Sandy,” he said, “I love you.”

She should have said that she loved him, too, but she wasn’t sure she did. Instead, she grabbed his head with both of her hands to kiss him more deeply. When she was kissing him, he couldn’t complain about what she didn’t say. He kissed back, and his fingers explored her mound through her panties. Then he went back to stroking the inside of her thigh.

Saturday, she stripped the beds and made them with her mom. She even had most of the first load in the washer when her mom called her to the phone. It was Charlie. “We talked about a driving lesson. Is this a good time?” Could she?

“I’ll ask.” Then, covering the phone, “Mom, could you put the clothes in the dryer when the washer stops?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll finish up the wash later. I want to learn to drive Charlie’s Jeep.”

“As long as your chores are done today, and your homework is done by tomorrow night.”

She went back on the phone. “Give me fifteen minutes, okay? I’m in the middle of some things I have to do.”

“I’m not quite ready myself,” Charlie said. “I wanted to give you some warning. How about twenty minutes?”

“That would be fine.” She hung up.

“You’re not going on a date dressed like that, are you?” Her mom asked. She was wearing jeans.

“It’s not a date, mom. He’s going to teach me how to drive his jeep.”

She finished loading the washer and turned it on before going up to the bathroom to freshen up. As she’d told her mom, it wasn’t a date; still, being seen by a boy called for lipstick.

She was ready minutes before Charlie beeped for her. He drove her over to the high-school parking lot. They had the whole place to themselves.

They needed it, even though Charlie put the Jeep in low gear. Turning the steering wheel was nothing like turning the wheel in her family’s Chevy. She remembered that both her arms hadn’t been able to push Charlie away when he didn’t want to be pushed. After wrestling with this steering wheel, she understood why his arms were so strong. When that was less of a struggle, Charlie started her on changing gears. When she stalled the Jeep out, he collapsed in laughter.

“You think it’s so funny?”

“Happened to me at first. Try again.” She did, and it got better. The Jeep’s clutch was much less smooth than the Chevy’s, and the gear shift on the floor was something she had to get used to. Finally, Charlie said, “Enough for one day. Drive over there and park facing the school.” She did and turned the engine off. Charlie climbed in back, and she followed him, having trouble with the gear stick once more.

Charlie kissed her before starting to unbutton her blouse. She knew the school was empty. Even if somebody had been there, it would have been hard to see into the back seat of the Jeep from the windows. Still, all those staring windows made her nervous. But Charlie had been generous. When he’d undone her buttons, she said, “Let me.” She slid off the blouse and removed her bra completely before putting the blouse back on. She didn’t button it.